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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spring — the season
  3. vault — a safe
  4. band — a music group
  5. chest — of your body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bound — obliged
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a ring
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. chest — a box
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. spring — a coil
  15. branch — a division
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. spring — of water
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com